Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Celebrating Yo-Yo Day

Have you ever rocked the baby, walked the dog and gone
around the world in one afternoon? You
could have it know a little bit about a yo-yo.
These are a few of the many tricks you can do with a yo-yo.

(Google Image)

Did you know that the yo-yo is the world's second oldest
toy? Many believe the origins of the
yo-yo were as early as 500 to 1000 B.C.
The picture above shows a young boy playing with one in 400 B.C.

(Google Image)

In 1923, Pedro Flores, a man of Filipino descent, began
building yo-yos in America. He built the yo-yos by hand, and discovered that
America's youth were fascinated with them. In 1928, Flores built the first
yo-yo factory, mass producing the toys in California. He also began to hold
yo-yo competitions to promote the toys, which started the first round of yo-yo
mania in the United States.

(Google Image)

Donald F. Duncan Sr. first saw yo-yos in action around
the time Flores began to hold competitions. He noticed how quickly the toys
captured the interest of kids and decided to get into the business of making
yo-yos. In 1930, Duncan bought out Flores, who was then hired to run Duncan's
promotional campaigns. For the next 25
years Duncan's yo-yo's were made of wood, then he partnered with another
company in 1955 to make them from plastic.
Due to the popularity of this toy, this day, National Yo-Yo day is in
honor of Donald Duncan who's birthday was today.

(Google Image)

To celebrate yo-yo day, why not find your old one and try
to remember some of the tricks you learned as a kid. I have to admit that I was all feet when it
came to playing with this toy, but Im brave enough to give it another try.